When I was a ministerial student we were introduced to the Gospel in Solentiname - a Latin American peasant reading of scripture.  Today as I was playing 'pick the hymns' for our harvest service (in two weeks time) I found one or two items of Nicaraguan origin, one from the 'Misa Popular Nicaraguenese'.  When I Googled that, I found something else, La Misa Campesina - the Peasant Mass, also from Nicaragua and released as a recording in 1979.

Here is the Credo, as reproduced on that fount of all dodgy references, Wikipedia:

I believe in you, comrade,

Christ man, Christ worker,

victor over death.

With your great sacrifice

you made new people

for liberation.

You are risen

in every arm outstretched

to defend the people

against the exploitation of rulers;

you are alive and present in the hut,

in the factory, in the school.

I believe in your ceaseless struggle,

I believe in your resurrection

And here is the Gloria.  It is very much of its time, but still worth a listen. 

Today I came across a free online Myers Briggs type-indicator (hyphenation mine as otherwise it's ambiguous!) test.  It confirmed that despite all the last few years have sent my way, and despite the fact that I am now more of the sieze-the-day mentality than I used to be, I am still an ISTJ.

Way back, when I was at college, a vicar did 'formal' MBTI tets for us and announced quite pointedly words to the effect that 'ISTJs are not ideally suited to be ministers'.  Pah!  Actually my ISTJ-ness has been well employed this past almost a decade, so I reckon God probably makes some pretty good calls.

You can find it here

Other personality tests are available and none should be taken too seriously!

This morning we thought about 'gentle wisdom' as per James 3/4, and I noted that it is not the existence of structures and systems which is critiqued by the above/below comparison  but instead the values that drive or underlie those systems.  I'm quite impressed that I managed to quote the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Walter Wink and Julian of Norwich all in the same sermon... and that's three more quotes than I'd normally use!

This evening we were looking at some 'creation time' themes recognising the orderliness of creation and the challenges and tensions of good stewardship alongside the power we have in the wealthy north west of the globe.  Questions about food miles and renewable energy, about fairtrade and local sourcing are really important, and really complex.

So, two services and two clearly inter-related themes... that God is a God of order, and that we need real 'wisdom from above' to live well in the complex world of which we are part.  Perhaps a less blatant connection than some Sundays of late, but it's still there.

A quiet week in prospect, as I have next Sunday 'off' so I am looking forward to doing some reading and reflecting (plus the inevitable interruptions which are the real ministry).

The sign of a desperate blogger - linking other people's stuff.

Ah well, this, this and this are fun, and worth a look imo.

Every list of suggested hymns/songs I look at these days seems to include the song 'Everyone needs Compassion'.  So the question I ask myself, in a traditonal but never stuffy church, is: would this work in our context?  This afternoon I 'googled' it and found several versions on You Tube. 

The song has its good points, but I'm not sure it will ever find it's way into my personal 'top ten'. However, this video does demonstrate that such songs can be sung successfully in more traditional styles, so long as you have singers and musicians willing and able to make it work...

Enjoy!